The Voice Of Bertrum Piedmont
For forty years, I've built attractions that stagger the imagination! Colossal wonders such as the world has never seen!
I have earned my legacy with sweat.
But right in front of everyone—high level investors, Wall Street tycoons—the ever-tactless Joey Drew introduces me, the great Bertrum Piedmont, as Bertie!
Like I was his child.
You may be paying me, Mister Drew, But you don't own me! I'll build you a park bigger than anything YOU could ever possibly conceive!
But before you go taking any bows, Mister Drew, know that this grand achievement will belong to me...
And to me alone.
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Henry stood before the broken cart lift that connected to the other side of the chasm. Well, something's definitely missing here. Let's see...
He turned and walked, stopping at a corridor nearby and staring deep into it.
Looks like more exercise for me.
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After a while of walking, Henry found himself standing before a large metal pipe, ascending out of the room. What the hell is this thing doing down here?
Noticing a switch in the room, he flipped it and watched as the pipe slowly rose open, revealing a vat of bubbling, gooey ink.
"Huh. Now what do I do?"
Grabbing and turning the large valve wheel that caught Henry's eye, a large, swollen searcher from the higher levels soon rose from the vat with a low groan. He thought back to the cavern from before. Hey...wait. I'm sure I saw something that needed ink...
Henry rolled up his sleeve, reached his hand out to the ink monster, and cringed as he grabbed a hold of a lump upon the searcher's swollen body. It made a low, mournful noise as Henry pulled his closed fist away from it, and the ink monster sunk back into the vat.
That was easier than I thought it'd be. He thought to himself, opening his fist and examining the sticky blob in his hand. Haha, gross. It's like a little slug. He poked it slightly with his free hand, drawing it back sharply when it began pulsing in response.
Closing his fist back up, Henry made his way back to the darkness.
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Henry shook his hand around slightly in order to free the sticky blob from his hand, watching it drop into the labeled "Ink Maker". He turned the disc on the side to see the different things that it could supposedly "create". Should I really be surprised at this point?
The different symbols showed a heart, some sort of cloud symbol, a radio, a bone, a plunger, a pipe, and finally, a gear. Henry stopped flipping the wheel it at the final symbol, and turned the lever on the other side.
The machine churned away for a small bit until the open chest-like box coughed out a large gear. He grabbed it and held it in his hands, turning it around to examine the details.
It seemed to be a perfect replica of a gear, right down to the texture as Henry ran his fingers across it. He went to the lift and placed it on the corresponding place, watching as the lift automatically began moving to the other side, slowly but surely.
He put one foot in, then the other, and then slowly eased himself into the cart. He didn't want to break it, after all. As soon as he settled himself in, the lift came to life by itself once more, sluggishly whirring across the dark abyss below.
Boy, this thing hasn't been used in a while, huh?
About halfway across the chasm, the lift soon came to a stop, leaving Henry suspended in the air. He left his stomach lurch and his heart rate quicken, but before he could think to do anything the lift came back with a rusty screech as it made its way to the other side, halting at the platform.
He gave a few dry heaves and steadily pushed himself out of the cart, stepping onto the platform and opening the door on the other side, shutting it behind him.
It was a simple, empty hallway, paint worn and peeling off of the sides. Henry took one step forward, and lurched back as another hallucination gripped his mind.
Thousands of inky hands were bursting out of the walls, reaching for and grabbing at Henry as he desperately tried opening the now-locked door. It soon came to an abrupt stop as he stood there cowering.
He stumbled his way to the other side, gripping the door handle and swinging it open.
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It seemed to be a lounge of some sorts, a balcony overhead. He heaved himself onto a couch nearby, but his rest was soon interrupted by a familiar fizzle of the intercoms.
"Oh, Henry..." The angel said in a mocking, sing-song tone. "Having a bit of trouble, are we? Maybe it's the brain damage from...mmm...when I dropped you in that elevator...."
"What keeps you going, I wonder? What makes you not want to die?" The spider paused for a moment before continuing. "Ohh, I remember now...you're looking for your widdle ol' friend, aren't you? Well....better hurry up, creator. Time's running out..."
The speakers went off with a pop, and Henry gritted his teeth in response. God damned angel.
"Why can't he just go and leave me alone already?"
Henry's frustration was interrupted by an unknown voice speaking from the balcony. He turned to see an inky, skeletal figure, mouth replaced by a drool-like slime dripping downwards and eyes glowing bright yellow. It had a youthful male's voice, blubbering with sadness. "He always finds me, wherever I go! He-He's going to find me! They're going to find me, a-and...! I j-I just want to go home....WHEN DO WE GO HOME!?"
The balcony creature covered his face and gave a few sobs.
"Um....he-hello? Are you...are you okay...?" Henry called out to him.
The Lost One gave an exclaim as he noticed Henry. "Oh, I'm sorry, I-"
"Y-YOU! You can- You can take my place!"
Henry was perplexed. "...Huh?"
The Lost One looked around frantically. "They...they're gonna do something awful to me...they- they want me to go in there, and...H-Hey, can you do me a f-favor? Go and....go and take my place." He begged. "I..I-I promise I'll try and...make it up to you..!"
"What do you me-"
"I HAVE TO GO!" He shouted, running off and leaving Henry alone once more.
Well, that was weird. He thought to himself, opening the door in front of him and facing a million of the same glowing eyes from before.
...What the actual fuck?
YOU ARE READING
Charley And The Swap Machine: Re-Ink'd
Pertualangana vivisection of me, yielded the start of a mystery. (or, what if if we decided to change the story you were used to already? with charley, barley, and edgar, henry gets thrown into the world of ink and ichor that we all know and love.) (or or, an a...
